Never Seen One Of These Before (Tommy Tate - Jamaican Okeh)

[Pete S]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tommy-Tate-A-Lovers-Reward-Okeh-7-ORIG-/190575916873?pt=UK_Records&hash=item2c5f35b749#ht_527wt_1170

wouldn't buy it but looks pretty cool! wonder what else they issued in Jamaica?

[Roburt]

On a visit to Barbados about 20 years ago, I came across a local Dept Store that was 'clearing out' old Bajan copies of W.I.R.L 45's & LP's (West Indies Records Ltd) stock .... they pressed up stuff in Jamaica &/or Barbados 'licensed' (or maybe not) from most US record labels. The Bajan store also had some Jamaican WIRL stuff that had obviously been shipped around the Islands for sale.

I got loads of decent soul stuff (+ some reggae), though most of it was 70's & 80's released items.

The local parent conglomerate that owned WIRL in Barbados had been trying to offload the record division (& locally owned studio) for some while back then. By all accounts, their record warehouse was stuffed with unsold stock.

Then, strangely, the warehouse burnt down, all the stock was 'lost' and the company got a big insurance pay out ... a most strange course of events especially as they couldn't seem to find a buyer for the business.

[Pete S]

On a visit to Barbados about 20 years ago, I came across a local Dept Store that was 'clearing out' old Bajan copies of W.I.R.L 45's & LP's (West Indies Records Ltd) stock .... they pressed up stuff in Jamaica &/or Barbados 'licensed' (or maybe not) from most US record labels. The Bajan store also had some Jamaican WIRL stuff that had obviously been shipped around the Islands for sale.

I got loads of decent soul stuff (+ some reggae), though most of it was 70's & 80's released items.

The local parent conglomerate that owned WIRL in Barbados had been trying to offload the record division (& locally owned studio) for some while back then. By all accounts, their record warehouse was stuffed with unsold stock.

Then, strangely, the warehouse burnt down, all the stock was 'lost' and the company got a big insurance pay out ... a most strange course of events especially as they couldn't seem to find a buyer for the business.

WIRL was actually owned by the former Jamaican prime minister Edward Seaga!

[Denbo]

Beltin'. Love it. Very unusual.

[Roburt]

RE: WIRL was actually owned by the former Jamaican prime minister Edward Seaga!

The Bajan branch of the biz wasn't (to the best of my knowledge) in the 1990's ....

... I was told that (by then), it was a small part of a big local enterprise that owned / ran 8 or 9 different businesses on the island.

Edited June 24, 2012 by Roburt

[Pete S]

RE: WIRL was actually owned by the former Jamaican prime minister Edward Seaga!

The Bajan branch of the biz wasn't (to the best of my knowledge) in the 1990's ....

... I was told that (by then), it was a small part of a big local enterprise that owned / ran 8 or 9 different businesses on the island.

OK will rephrase - it was ONCE owned by him, in fact I think he helped found it. Wiki will know. Or Tony Rounce.